Nulara Kincade. That was the name of a child involved in a missing case report that supposedly got lost in the foster care system. Her cold case was considered one of the most complex cases to crack simply because all information leading up to her supposedly "running away" was lost to history alongside any clues. She was completely invisible somehow, even to CCTV camera footage and because of that, the world was forced to give up on her.
What happened to her?
Why would she just "run away"? Obviously just an excuse for the lack of effort put in by any of the officers in charge of her case at the time but if she didn't run away then what seriously happened to her.
It all started on March 17th, CXXV during early spring when the weather had just started getting warmer and nights stopped getting colder. Nulara was six years old at the time and I think it suffices to say that she was living a ordinary yet serene life which all children deserve but life has a way of making that difficult, unfortunately, that subject is usually filtered to those less-deserving of bloodshed and horror.
"Mommy! Look at this! Ivy started walking! Look!" Nulara exclaimed with a burst of excitement after she screamed from one of the rooms upstairs.
In response to the event, a pair of older women ran into the room as fast as possible with one carrying a video camera to record the auspicious occasion.
"Is she walking? Did we miss it? Please tell me we didn't miss it" One of the women begged Nulara when she entered the baby's room and searched for any sign of her youngest daughter.
"This better not be another trick Nulara" The other women warned her.
"No really, she was walking earlier but … you missed it" Nulara stated unfortunately, dropping onto her behind and sitting beside her infant sister who was still struggling with the basics of movement. The room they were in was reminiscent of a toddler's bedroom, with soft puzzle-shaped flooring for the safety of the child and various drawings highlighting the walls of the room.
"Oh come oooon" one of the women groaned in frustration after missing their daughter walk for the second time already. This women was Nulara's female mother, "Ellery Kincade" and as you can see, she's very agitated at the moment what with them always missing an important moment like this in their child's life. "Please tell me you recorded it?"
"Sorry" Nulara apologised.
"Okay, don't worry about it honey. How about you stay here with Ivy and Nulara, come help mommy with dinner" Elerry's loving wife and eternal partner suggested when she approached Ivy and picked her up from the floor. This women was Nulara's demife mother, "Maria Kincade" and the breadwinner of the family.
"Really?!" Nulara asked, beaming with excitement at the thought of learning to cook with her mother.
"Yeah sweetie, come on. Here" Maria said, gently handing Ivy to Elerry who was still quite disappointed. "Come on, don't worry. We won't miss it this time"
"Maybe you're right" Elerry said, nodding her head in thought and gently turning her attention to her adorable daughter, still stuck on the training wheels of walking. "You hear that little Ivy?" she asked, gently kissing her on the forehead. "Mommy's going to be taking extra-care of you from here on out"
"Don't worry mommy, she always tries to walk whenever she smells the food. Your cooking is amazing" Nulara confidently reassured her.
"Really? You think that might be it?" Elerry asked her out of curiosity.
"Come on Nulara, don't feed her any more fairy tales please" Maria ordered when she pulled Nulara out of the room so that Elerry could watch over little Ivy instead.
When they walked out of little Ivy's bedroom, Nulara followed behind her mother but slowly came to a halt when her throat started itching again. Nulara took the time to clear her throat but Maria stopped as well out of worry. "Aww, honey, is your throat still itching?"
"Yeah, a little mommy but it'll get better"
"How long has this been going on?" Maria wondered.
"I think for a week now but mommy thinks it's just a small itch and it'll go away soon"
"Alright but just to be sure, we'll get that checked out this afternoon. Okay honey?"
"Okay, but it's really nothing. Are we taking Ivy with?" Nulara wondered out of curiosity.
"Well we have to. We can't call a babysitter under such short notice but think of this as a family trip" Maria suggested when she gently patted the top of Nulara's head.
Nulara smiled playfully before she opened her eyes and admired the strong character that was her mother, Maria. Growing up, Maria was always the strongest women she's ever known but that same maternal unconditional love, praise and support as well as emotional guidance is what she aspired to become when she reaches that age in her life. The difference between her mothers could easily be chalked down to emotional maturity. Maria is by far, the closest one could consider a mother because Elerry lacks what people would call responsibilities however that doesn't mean she can't be a loving mother.
The lush black locks falling to her shoulders and her gorgeous green eyes are both traits she wished she received from Maria but who's to say her short fiery red hair isn't pretty?
"Now come on. Let's make your mother some Lasagna"
"We're having Lasagna?! Well what are we waiting for, let's go!" Nulara eagerly exclaimed by taking Maria's hand and pulling her along the hallway.
Later that afternoon, the family prepared to leave so that Nulara could get examined by a professional. Maria was already outside with Ivy in her arms, playfully codling with her daughter while basking in the blissful breeze of the day. The neighbourhood that they stayed in was a quiet, peaceful and suburban area filled with rich homes, overflowing with culture and history. In the heart of Cat city, the Gresemreob Circle is one of the safest neighbourhoods in Cat city. Living here is sometimes even considered an honour by most citizens due to how far it is from the hustle and bustle of the city.
At the moment even, neighbours from across the quiet road quietly enjoyed their time either inside their suburban homes or outside, basking in such a perfect day that simply couldn't be ruined.
"Girls! Come on, we're going to be late for the doctors appointment" Maria called out to them before Elerry and Nulara both left the house and locked the door behind them.
"We're coming!" Nulara reassured her when she ran out of the house and made her way to the car in the driveway out of excitement which worried Maria.
"Nulara, slow down or you'll fall"
"How's Ivy? Is she still okay?" Elerry wondered after she locked the front door and approached them.
"I think so. Are you driving?"
"Yeah I can drive. Come on, Nulara seems really excited for some reason" Elerry decided when she approached the car. Nulara was already inside the back of the car, eagerly waiting for them and calling for them get inside already.
"I think she's just excited period" Maria explained when she walked all the way around to the passengers side of the crimson SUV before getting inside and keeping Ivy close to her. At the same time, Elerry got inside the right side of the SUV(The off side) just before she remembered something.
"Wait a second, did we lock the backdoor?" Elerry wondered.
"I don't know. Nulara, can you check please?" Maria asked.
"Oh and can you also check if the ovens off?" Elerry added.
"Okay, I'll be quick" She said before she stepped out of the rear seats of the car and hurriedly ran down the front lawn of their welcoming suburban home.
"Reverse out of the driveway so long" Maria suggested when she looked at the rear-view mirror but as soon as Elerry started the ignition, the entire SUV and the surrounding space was set ablaze in a horrific explosion. The force of the blast sent Nulara flying off the front lawn but alongside her, debris from wreckage fell. Blackened debris and rubble flew off in every direction but in the center of the explosion, Nulara could still see the outline of their family vehicle in the middle of the flames.
Nulara remained seated near the porch, staring in absolute horror, at the remnants of the SUV and most probably her family. Her eyes were fixated on it until she eventually regained the capacity to take her eyes off of it and try and pick herself up.
"Mommy? …" she called out to her parents and hesitantly advanced forward, towards the smaller flames rising rapidly from the charred remains of the SUV. "I-Ivy? Are … are you there? Please…"
When she approached the blazing wreckage, the heat became too much for her to bear going closer which was why she collapsed onto her knees and ignored the tears streaming from her eyes. It was over. Even she could tell that nothing of her family persisted. In time, some of the neighbours heard the commotion and stepped outside however it's not like anybody could actually remedy this kind of disaster.
After that traumatic experience, Nulara was trapped in the foster care system and as some may know, it isn't necessarily the best thing in the world. Being trapped in a system as an unfortunate orphan can be traumatising, depressing and very uncomfortable for those that have just lost their families or been abandoned by them. For the police, it was a rather unfortunate case because after she lost her family, she was thrown around from orphanage to orphanage because of bad behaviour and violent tendencies but inside the elaborate process of redirection, Nulara got lost somewhere in between and was never seen again. She became one of the most bewildering missing persons cases in Galeari.
That's what brings us back to the present. Nulara turned into one of the narrow alleyways of the Novatarius district and quickly hid behind a large garbage container, away from the mysterious men that seem to be interested in her. When she hid herself away, she covered her mouth with both of her hands and concealed her breathing while holding back any and all physical signs of fear.
Finally, several of the suited women that were chasing her, ran passed the alleyway at full speed while others explored the busy crowds of cosplayers and excited civilians. Amidst all of the noise, music and indistinct chit chatter, she couldn't hear the rapid footsteps chasing after her anymore which was why she removed her hands and tried to calm her breathing.
Just as she was about to stand up, she immediately hid behind the large garbage container when another women stepped out from behind the corner and looked around. Unlike the suited women, this woman was unique in a sense that she was blinded by the black blindfold wrapped around her eyes. Aside from that indistinguishable feature, she also appears to be the leader since one of the women in black approached this woman.
"Boss, we're searching the area but we haven't found her yet" The woman in black reported.
"Don't give up now. She's here … there's no doubt about that. Expand the area of search and begin lockdown formation, nobody leaves Novatarius tonight" The mysterious women ordered before she turned her attention towards this alley.
"You got it boss"
When the suited woman ran off to continue the search and order the rest of the women, the mysterious woman cautiously ventured into the shadowy alley while listening closely for anything suspicious. Nulara hurriedly covered her mouth again and closed her eyes out of fear
With each painstaking step taken at a time, Nulara tried to keep herself from making a single sound when the woman walked passed the garbage container. Nulara slowly opened her eyes again but it widened in shock when she realised that the most terrifying woman she's ever seen in her life was standing right beside her, a couple of feet away from finding her and taking her back to that horrible place.
The woman stopped for a couple of lingering seconds to focus on her sense of hearing before she finally continued onward down the alley.
Now that it was safe to go, Nulara slowly removed her hands from her mouth and tried to stand up. When she stood up, she quietly snuck out from her hiding spot and tried to lurk out of the alleyway on her own. Unfortunately for her, she accidentally stepped onto an empty soda can which made more than enough noise.
Nulara immediately looked behind her at the blindfolded women who was now too far away for her to reach her. With that noted, she took off as quickly as possible but a hand suddenly grabbed the ends of her abnormally long auburn hair which made her scream out in pain. Nulara fell back onto her behind and tried to pull her hair out of her predator's grasp but that women was basically a hulk in comparison to a child.
"You're coming back with me" The blindfolded woman ordered when she turned around and started pulling Nulara behind her by her unkempt curls.
"No!!! I'm not going .. back!" Nulara exclaimed but the harder she tried to break free, the more agonising the pain grew. Nulara's fiery red hair then suddenly started glowing with the incandescence of unbearable heat alongside her fiery red eyes but before her hair could produce any hellish flames, the blindfolded women felt the heat and countered it by freezing each and every strand of hair that was already in contact with her hair which produced a heap of condensation which rose from her hair. She then wrapped those unkempt strands around her hand and easily lifted Nulara up from the ground so that she couldn't escape. "Let me go! I won't .. go back with you. You'll have to kill me!"
"Be quiet" the blindfolded women ordered while she carefully froze the area around Nulara's mouth with a layer of harmless ice, emitted from the tip of her index finger.
Nulara hummed behind the coating of ice and continued her struggling.
"LET HER GO!!!" Somebody screamed at the top of her lungs before the blindfolded women looked up above her and heard the presence of another women plummeting down from the rooftops. Not even a second passed before the blindfolded women raised her right arm to guard against the oncoming force of the attacker but was pushed down onto one knee. The blindfolded woman released Nulara so that she could plant her free hand onto the ground to support the unbearable weight being pushed down onto her. The mysterious attacker had somehow descended from the sky in multiple front flips and delivered a flawless downward axe kick directly onto the blindfolded woman.
The blindfolded woman then released a burst of condensed cold energy which blew the attacker away and into the air. With a burst of flames, the attack then propelled herself against the side of the wall and from wall to wall, she rushed right passed the blindfolded women. When the woman slowly picked herself up, she looked behind her and turned to the attacker who not only stopped a couple of feet away, at the entrance to the alley but also picked Nulara up and carried her in her arms.
The attacker slowly stood up as well and turned around to face the blindfolded woman. "She's just a little girl, leave her alone". The woman was none other than Erin, carrying the little girl.
"This isn't any of your business. Stay out of it" The blindfolded woman warned her.
Nulara's eyes remained terrified but relieved to see a face other than those belonging to women either trying to experiment on her or harm her. While she was completely stunned by the sight of Erin, Erin noticed this and gave her a smile of reassurance.
"Are you okay? You're not hurt are you?" Erin asked her.
Nulara could only nod her head at her question, speechless by the stupendous aura of her mysterious saviour.
"That's great. You're gonna be okay. I won't let her hurt you" Erin reassured Nulara before she turned her attention back to the blindfolded woman that threatened to kidnap the child.
Only then did Erin notice the presences of several other women, standing behind her, at the entrance to the alley. Multiple women then dropped down from the rooftops and landed behind their leader, to properly handle the situation. She was trapped and she knew it but how exactly would she handle the situation? What will Erin do now?
"Well, this doesn't look good" Erin stated when after she looked over her shoulder at the armed women that were approaching her.
"Hand over the girl .. and we'll let you live" The blindfolded woman ordered just before all of the women behind her, unsheathed their submachine guns and focused their sights on her.
"You won't shoot me" Erin said, calling out her bluff. "Not while I'm carrying the girl. How about you let us go instead and when she's free, we can duke it out, one on one in an old-fashioned fisticuffs"
"You're not an ordinary civilian are you?" The blindfolded woman asked her, raising her hand and signalling for her women to lower their guns. "Your aether control is outstanding for someone your age, either that or you're not actually human. A noble from a rich family, trained in the basics of aether energy control or a student enrolled at Primrose Academy. Either way, I can identify you by your aether and voice alone and I can find you. Forget me, my superiors can find you … so listen to that little voice in your head and leave now before you have bigger problems to deal with"
While the women was speaking, Erin couldn't help but notice someone jumping across the space above this alleyway and due to how dark it was, none of the other women behind her seems to have noticed. "That sounds nice … it really does but .. I have this thing called a moral compass which is why I can't just give her to you"
"Then consider yourself an enemy of the monarchy" The blindfolded woman stated just before Erin held Nulara as tightly as possible.
"I'm sorry about this" Erin apologised to Nulara before she threw the girl up, as high as possible. Nulara screamed at the top of her lungs as she rose up high and when everyone raised their heads, an incredibly bright flash of green light was all that they saw before Nulara was gone.
"A foolish move. You just got rid of your only leverage" The blindfolded woman stated before she raised her hand. With that said, all of the women in black, raised their guns and immediately started firing. A deafening barrage of bullets punctured the air but as soon as the fight started, Erin fired a sea of crimson flames in the direction of the women behind her. The sea of fire erupted from the alley and completely overwhelmed all of the women in its path. The people outside screamed in terror when the explosion came out of nowhere. Others merely ran away for their own safety when the overwhelming blaze eventually died down.
Upon firing that wave, it propelled Erin upward into multiple horizontal spins, over all of the gunfire but she fired another burst of flames that sent her hurdling through the air. She crashed straight into one of the women and from there, proceeded to take down all of the women amidst the gunfire. Like a phoenix leaving a trail of glorious flames, Erin brutally eliminated all of the women without even taking a single bullet.
She then stood up and tossed one of the rifles away when all of them were defeated. Majority of the women groaned in pain from the non-lethal display of violence that just brought them all down. The harmless flames left behind after her attack slowly extinguished itself but the blindfolded woman simply kept standing there, unbothered by the remarkable sight and with her back facing Erin.
"You're all alone and .. it won't take long before the police show up now" Erin warned her.
"Give up"
"Why aren't you killing her?" I asked her when I walked into the alley, breathing into my hands as an attempt to warm them.
"Oh Maddy, thank god you're here! Is that girl safe? Please tell me she is" Erin demanded to know out of nervousness.
"She's fine but we aren't. She's with the Monarchy you idiot and even the headmaster can't save us from them. If we kill her, all of this leaves with her"
"Hey now, we're not killing her. I don't know who the Monarchy is but…" before Erin could finish, the blindfolded woman stopped her.
"Your friend is a smart one. She's right … if I leave here, ex-commander Faringray can't save you from my superiors so it would be best if you kill me" she said before she looked over her shoulder at Erin. "Your non-lethal attacks prove that you're too weak to become a knight, much less a capable fighter"
"It's funny that you say that because I have no idea what you're talking about but I'm not killing anybody tonight. The girl is safe and out of your reach. We can all leave now and nobody needs to get hurt"
"Is she?" The blindfolded woman stopped her. "Or is she safe for now? If I don't find her, someone else will but when they do, her punishment will be even more severe. I'll tell you again, hand her over to me now .. and I'll spare you both"
"And what makes you think that you can negotiate with us?" I asked her, rubbing my hands together. After I took another step forward, I began to notice that my hands were becoming abnormally colder than before and at an alarming rate too. The blindfolded woman then proceeded to pull out a pistol from her suit jacket. She did this so fast that by the time she fired a bullet, my electroreceptors warned me and allowed me to act decisively. It was as if everything slowed down again but the bullet was already inches away from my face so it was pointless to waste precious time now. When I stepped out of the way, I realised that this bullet wasn't from ordinary handgun cartridges. As a matter of fact, it was shrouded in an ephemeral aura, radiating from a crimson sphere located inside the bullet.
Normally, bullets would have absolutely no effect on us because of the defensive barrier we create around ourselves using our aether energy but something tells me that this bullet is dangerous and allowing it to hit me is out of question.
As soon as I dodged the bullet, Erin acted in time and tried to detain the women from behind but to our surprise, she shot Erin in the leg which made her scream in pain. Without even turning to her, the woman fired that gun and sent a bullet of the same variety into Erin's thigh.
When Erin fell down onto that knee, she gritted her teeth in pain and tried to bear with the torturous pain running through her left leg right now.
"Erin!!!" I called out to her but as soon as my body started emitting bolts of electricity, I rushed forward to quickly kill that woman but stopped right in front of her because she had already held Erin up by her hair and pressed the tip of the barrel right against the side of her head.
"Stop now … or else I kill your friend" The blindfolded woman demanded with a straight apathetic expression, showing no signs of sympathy or hesitation.
Erin closed her eyes while trying to bear with the pain before opening it and looking at the bullet wound. Blood had already began escaping from the wound but to make matters worse, black veins had started expanding outside of the wound which wasn't a good sign.
"Ffffffuck…" Erin cursed out loud in an effort to resist the agony.
"Stop! Just .. don't kill her!" I begged after I stopped in front of her and raised my hands in surrender. There wasn't anything I could do right now. I may be fast but this woman is clearly fast enough to pull the trigger and blow Erins brains out before I can stop her.
"You seem to really care about this girl. What would you do if I were to shoot her right now?"
I remained silent out of thought, using this time to instead, search for a weakness that I could take advantage of.
"For girls your age, you both seem to be experienced in this matter. If so then you know how dangerous a situation can get if you aren't careful. Tides can turn in just a second and if you're not ready, you could be at the unfortunate end of it"
I ignored her and stared at Erin who was clearly in too much pain. The torment visible on her face made my blood boil but it also left me nervous and afraid. My surrendered hands were shaking because there was really nothing I could do. Sure I could electrocute her but what would that accomplish? I should've killed her when I had the chance. Regrets, it's always regrets. I always end up regretting something in the middle of a fight instead of actually figuring out how to remedy the situation. If Tempest were here, she could've froze the gun remotely, freezing the firing pin and stopping the gun from firing the bullet altogether. Fuck! Why is this happening when Tempest is missing? No Mason, think, just think.
"Whatever you want, just ask it already but please don't shoot"
"It should be obvious what I want. Bring me the girl" The blindfolded woman ordered before pressing the tip of the barrel harder against Erins head.
"D-Don't do it Maddy. Don't listen to her. The girl's life means more" Erin begged me while under the torment.
"Don't be stupid Erin. Your life matters too … fine. I'll bring you the girl" I decided, slowly lowering my hands and taking a step back to show her that I don't plan on doing anything rash.
"Madison! No! Don't do it! I'm serious! Don't bring the girl here! Fuck!! Let her shoot me! It's okay!"
"Don't listen her to Madison. Bring the girl" The blindfolded woman ordered, smiling under all of the power she has over us. The sadistic bitch is probably enjoying this. Who knows if she even plans on releasing us after I hand the girl over?
When I turned around and started walking away, Erin screamed out to me. "MADISON!! Please! Don't ruin this girl's life because of me. Let her shoot me but don't do this!" Instead of letting her finish, I disappeared within a flash and came back several seconds later with the girl in my arms. Because of what happened, I made sure to knock her out so as to avoid her resisting.
"Here, you wanted her so here you go. Now let my friend go"
Erin stared at me as if I had just betrayed her. Tears began to accumulate in the corners of her eyes while her mouth remained speechless. She then closed her eyes and lowered her head in shame.
"Madison ... idiot" she cursed beneath her breath, trying to keep herself from crying.
"Thank you Madison. For that, here's your gift" The blindfolded woman said before she pulled the trigger and:
BANG!!!
My eyes widened in absolute horror when a ton of blood escape from the other side of Erins head and onto the walls, creating a horrifying painting. For what felt like hours for me, I witnessed the light slowly fade from Erins eyes as her body fell to the side and into a small puddle of her own blood, pouring from the gunshot wound in her head.
All of the strength I had, completely left my body before I dropped Nulara onto the ground. With myself wide open, the woman then trained her gun on me and:
BANG!!!
It was over. The end.
TO BE CONTINUED…